Berkshire adds $17 billion to Alphabet stake

Berkshire Hathaway added $17 billion of Alphabet shares in the second quarter, making Google's parent company its third-largest equity holding. The company's Q2 portfolio snapshot revealed it owns nearly 106 million Alphabet Class A and Class C shares, valued at approximately $36.6 billion. This positions Alphabet ahead of Coca-Cola ($35.1 billion) but behind Apple ($69.7 billion) and American Express ($51.9 billion).

Approximately 60% of the 48.1 million shares acquired were through a $10 billion private placement sale with Alphabet in early June, suggesting Berkshire purchased about $7 billion on the open market. While Alphabet was the largest addition, Berkshire also significantly increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 44%, or roughly $1.6 billion, bringing its total to 57.3 million shares valued at $5.1 billion. This marks a return to Berkshire's portfolio after being sold off in Q1 2020.

Other additions included a 142% jump in Macy's holdings, an increase of about $100 million, and an addition of around $280 million to its stake in homebuilder Lennar, coinciding with the acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home for $6.8 billion.

Berkshire continued its trend of selling financial holdings, trimming its Ally Financial stake by 7% and its Capital One holding by 58%. The Bank of America stake was reduced by 5.9%, representing the largest dollar cut of the quarter at around $1.7 billion. This reduction brings Berkshire's BofA stake down by 53% after eight consecutive quarters of selling.

Separately, 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry expressed concern over Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel's reduction of the company's cash pile, fearing it indicated a lack of patience for investment opportunities. Burry stated he no longer finds Berkshire an attractive investment going forward, despite acknowledging the substantial remaining cash reserves.